Posts Tagged ‘employees’

You’ve probably seen someone ask are you in charge in order to know how to proceed? This can happen when a customer needs help or is just trying to see if they are in the right place. But, that is not where I’m going in this posting.

Who Died and Made You the Boss?

You have probably been in a situation where there is an individual or several individuals who, for whatever reason, take it upon themselves to tell everyone else what to do, how to do it, and where to go. Now, understand that there are times when someone realizes, based on knowledge they have, that it makes sense for them to step up and take charge of a situation. The reason this can make sense is that sometimes others may clearly be reluctant to take any actions until they know for sure what is required. Yet, that is not what I have in mind here.

An Example from Outside of Work

I enjoy playing tennis and occasionally hit a little with a group that goes to a particular park. For the most part everyone gets along well, but there are at least two exceptions among those that play. For some reason they think it is their right to tell everyone else on what court to play and with whom. Of course, if anyone just ignores them it doesn’t sit well with them and they are none too shy in letting their displeasure be known. This is the kind of person I’m thinking of when I use the question, “Who died and made you the boss?” Now, this is just in a recreational situation and really just more of an irritant to others rather than something major. What these people who do this fail to realize is that they are not making a very good impression on others. In fact, when they do this too many times people begin wondering who they think they are. Nobody asked are you in charge yet they seem to think that somehow they are. But, that’s enough about outside of work.

At Work Can be Even Worse

I’ve seen situations in a work environment where someone thought they should just tell everyone else what to do and when. They were often not even in a position to know what needed to be done, but I guess out of a desire to be in charge they just started bossing others around. Again, nobody asked are you in charge or even hinted at that question. It is one thing when the clear leader of a group designates others to take charge of a particular area, but when someone just forcefully takes over of their own accord then that runs the risk of creating resentment with other employees. One place this often happens is in a business meeting where one person runs roughshod over other attendees, even shutting down valuable discussion.

How do you interact with others? Are you sometimes presumptuous and simply take over when it would be better to let a discussion proceed before someone is designated to take charge?

How others perceive us matters, and that means we should strive to make lasting impressions at work that bode well for us and them. In a prior blog Be a Great Boss I discussed the impact business owners and managers can have on employees. Of course this works both ways, so employees should be cognizant of Read the rest of this entry »

The expression do the maintenance probably makes you think more along the lines of getting your auto serviced according to schedule or making home repairs. But, my articles are primarily about small business, particularly the financial and operations areas, and this is no different. Read the rest of this entry »

In the workplace negative people drain the energy. A word of caution, beware the naysayers. You know the type. They see nothing but problems. In their eyes everything of doomed to failure. Read the rest of this entry »

The world has way too many people with negative attitudes who second-guess everything you try. But, who says you can’t do that? If you are an idea person you probably find people who second-guess every idea to be a drag. But, new ideas are essential to Read the rest of this entry »